Richard Juhlin Optimum

The Richard Juhlin Optimum is born, two years in the making, with the ambitious aim to mark an evolution in the category of professional Champagne tasting stemware.

For Italesse, the Richard Juhlin Optimum project represents the forerunner of a working method that has not only involved leading international designers such as Claesson Koivisto Rune in the design and production of a new product , but that has also benefited from the active involvement of a world famous Champagne expert, Richard Juhlin.

A well-planned operation which brought together three important parties. Through the exchange of ideas, the development of prototypes and a number of tests, the project eventually arrived at creating the optimal tool for tasting Champagne. Starting from the criteria and technical elements provided by Richard Juhlin himself, the CKR studio worked out and shaped a custom-designed technical Champagne flûte, which wholly meets his needs.

The rim is just narrow enough to allow the Champagne's fragrances and aromas to rise to the taster's nose in the best way possible. The overall bowl size has been technically analysed and is perfectly balanced, both in the depth of the piqûre in the lower section, as well as in the height and closing angle of the top part of the bowl, called cheminnée. It concentrates and conveys the aromas and scents towards the nose and mouth.

The maximum bowl diameter matches the optimal serving level: that optimal champagne surface, which, when exposed to the air above and contained in the bowl, releases aromas and flavours in the most effective way possible. At this level (9cl.), a decorative and functional line has been engraved on one version of the Champagne flûte. The result is surprising, even from an aesthetic point of view. The base of the bowl has an inward curve that, in addition to defining its technical shape, highlights the flûte's identity and lends it a touch of inescapable modernity.

This part of the bowl features a deep piqûre - where bubbles form, to then propagate to the centre of the bowl - and where the laser perlage etching multiplies the nucleation effect, generating a larger amount of bubbles.

A technical, formal and design challenge, tackled by Italesse and won together with Richard Juhlin and Claesson Koivisto Rune, with the production of the Richard Juhlin Optimum.